Irene sat stoically by the bed, eyes not leaving the occupant and face unreadable. She carefully took hold of Seulgi’s hand and began to trace random patterns while willing her to wake up. Her precious bear often slept like a log but now was really not the time for it. She needed her to wake up so that everything would be alright. She needed a miracle. She needed her Seulgi back but there was little she could do to change the inevitable.

It had been pouring rain for hours that day, one of the heaviest rainfall their country had seen in years. While the rain gradually lessen by the end of the day, the roads were already wet and slippery. Certain parts of the city, including the usual way Seulgi used daily, had been flooded as well. After hearing the news on the radio, she parked by the curb to reset the navigation app in her phone, a detour was unavoidable. As she was about to tap “Go”, a truck came skidding uncontrollably towards her direction and rammed straight into her.

Both vehicles crashed into the nearby shops. Passersby were quick to call for help but by the time they had managed to retrieve her from the crumpled wreckage, she was already unconscious and had lost a lot of blood. The truck driver was pronounced dead on site. Paramedics persisted even though the situation looked grim, they had resuscitated Seulgi during the journey to the hospital. Once they had arrived, they quickly wheeled her into the operating room. Other hospital staff were working on identifying their latest arrival and calling the last contact she had dialed on her phone.

Irene had arrived about half an hour later with three of their closest friends. Wendy had calmly went up to the nurses’ station and asked for the necessary information while Joy and Yeri stayed with Irene to keep her steady. Her knees looked like they were going to buckle at any moment and the two youngest had to practically drag Irene towards the direction Wendy pointed at. Irene was seen trashing around hysterically a few hours later, crying out to the doctors. Joy had held her back, preventing Irene from clawing at the doctors who stepped out of the operating room with their heads hung low. They offered their apologies and went on their way. Seulgi was wheeled out a few moments later and transferred to the ICU.

“We’re very sorry. There was too much blood lost. We patched up whatever we could but she..she would not last the night.”

Seulgi’s ward room was eerily silent, save for the beeping of the heart monitor. Irene continued to watch her Seulgi, watched the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest as she breathed, watched for any signs of movements as she listened to the beeps of the heart monitor. They were steady, it was a good sign. Seulgi might just pull through. Their friends were huddled on the small sofa in a corner of the room, each trying their best to stay calm and awake - coffee, music, absentmindedly scrolling through their phones’ applications, everything and anything to stay awake. It was past 4a.m. at that point. Everybody was tired.

The room remained silent until when suddenly the beeping seemed to have slowed. The intervals between the beeps were getting longer. The three on the sofa stood up and walked closer to the bed while Irene tightened her grip on Seulgi’s hand, tears threatening to fall again. They watched as Seulgi’s breathing slowed until it stopped and the dreaded flatline tone was heard. Nurses who were on standby had alerted the doctors and they rushed into the room.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion at that time, Irene had stood and shook Seulgi vigorously while her friends pried her away to let the doctors perform their duties. A few moments later, she was pronounced dead.

“Kang Seulgi, time of death - 4:18a.m.”

***

“Joohyun ah!”

The said girl turned towards the voice and squinted. She quickly put on her glasses that was hooked on her shirt’s neckline when the voice bellowed her name a second time. Spotting her bear waving at her, she rushed over and ran right into Seulgi’s awaiting arms, causing the taller girl to chuckle at her overly excited girlfriend. Irene ignored it completely, preferring to nuzzle into Seulgi’s hair and breathed in her scent.

“I missed you too Hyun but your luggage..”

Seulgi motioned to the abandoned luggage that sat in the middle of the arrival hall. Irene pouted and clung onto her form, she was not going to let go anytime soon especially when they had been apart for several months. Seulgi made a game of trying to get Irene to loosen her hold to retrieve the luggage but the latter was not having it. It wasn’t until Seulgi’s phone rang did Irene let her go.

“Yes, her flight has landed and she’s with me now. We’re on our way home.”

Irene gestured animatedly, retelling stories of her travel abroad during the past couple of months during their walk to the carpark. Seulgi looked at her endearingly, trying her best to catch every detail of the story. Everything, however, quieted during the drive back to Irene’s house. Whatever frenzy the smaller girl was in earlier had waned and she had fallen asleep. Seulgi watched as Irene’s head swung from side to side and shifted her position several times to find a comfortable spot. She smiled and shook her head before returning her attention to the road ahead.

She had gone on a graduation trip with her friends without Seulgi because she needed to sit for a replacement exam to make up for the paper she had unexpectedly failed. The bear had whined and grumbled relentlessly about failing before Irene had had enough and pacified her with a series of kisses, a sure-fire way to shut Seulgi up. Irene had told her a few days ago that she would return home first, a few days earlier than planned while her friends continued to explore the foreign land. While she was glad Irene was home, she felt bad as her phone was filled with messages from Irene that said “i miss you” and “i wish you were here with me”. She was clearly not enjoying the trip as much as she should have.

“I can’t wait to we go out on dates and hang out again, Hyun.” Seulgi paused as she saw Irene’s swinging head took another dip. “Maybe after you’ve gotten enough rest.” She chuckled - their  studies were over, they had all the time in the world, they could afford to put off job hunting for a while longer - Seulgi was determined to spend as much time as possible with Irene before both of them were thrown into the chaotic world of being adults.

***

Seulgi and Irene were resting under the tree on a lazy afternoon in a park they often played at when they were children. Seulgi had fallen asleep on Irene’s lap, murmuring something about being comfortable before dozing off completely. Irene smiled to herself as she played with Seulgi’s hair, completely forgetting about the book she was reading earlier. She quickly fished her phone from her bag and took a picture of her girlfriend, sleeping contently on her lap with wide open. Chuckling, she took a few more pictures for blackmailing purposes and returned her attention to her neglected book.

It was their first anniversary that day and both of them had sheepishly confessed of not knowing what to do to celebrate. In the end they had chosen to spend the day like they would on a regular weekend and went on a lunch date followed by a movie afterwards. Simple, but they enjoyed themselves thoroughly.

As Seulgi slept on, Irene glanced at the mini whiteboard that stuck out from her bag and pondered how on earth did that lead to them being best friends, subsequently girlfriends. Seulgi had always been there for her from the very beginning - from fending off bullies to helping her fit in in school.

What would I do without you, Seulgi-ah?”

***

“No funny business during the date. Do you hear me, young lady?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I expect Joohyun to be home before curfew, do you understand?”

“Yes, sir. I’ll have her home by 11pm on the dot, sir.”

“Just because you’ve known my daughter for a long time doesn’t mean I’m going to go easy on you. If you so much as make her sad, I will hunt you down. Are we clear?”

Seulgi gulped.

“Crystal clear, sir.” Seulgi almost saluted at the man who was staring her down. Mr Bae was tall in stature, intimidating would be the right word to describe him at the moment. Seulgi tried her best to maintain eye contact, not wanting to seem like a wuss. She felt as though she succeeded when his expression softened.

“Just..take good care of her, ok Seulgi?” he gave her shoulder a few pats before Irene emerged from upstairs

She quickly descended the stairs and went up to them, giving her father a look along the way.

Daddy, stop scaring her.

Seulgi let out a sigh when they were in the safety of the bus, far away from the stares Mr Bae had been giving her since arriving at their doorstep that evening. Irene looked at her with concern but Seulgi brushed it off, reassuring Irene that she was fine.

“Don’t worry, he didn’t scare me..that much,” Seulgi allowed herself a comical eyeroll, “I’m ok!” She reassured again.

To be honest, Seulgi was scared less. Being stared down by Mr Bae, a man she had known almost her entire life to be a calm and gentle person, was not part of the plan when she had asked Irene out on a date. Actually, she had not planned to ask Irene out at all, much less confessed to her after school a few days prior. She was waiting for Irene to return from the staff room after their teacher had asked for help to deliver their homework. Irene, being the class monitor, naturally volunteered for the job.

Seulgi was sitting on her desk idly before she felt somebody poked her shoulder. Turning around, she saw Joy and Yeri had come over to their class so that they could go home together as usual.

“Where’s Irene?”

“Helping out our teacher. She’ll be back soon.”

“So..Valentine’s Day is coming up. What chu gonna do about it, Seulgi?” Joy took a jab at Seulgi’s shoulder.

“Am I supposed to do something about it?” Seulgi eyed them suspiciously. She had a feeling she knew where the conversation was going.

“You know everybody is going to try and ask Irene out. What are you going to do about it?” Yeri piped up.

“I don’t know what you guys want me to do. I’ve told you guys about a thousand times I am not going to ask her out. It’s crazy! What if she doesn’t like me back? I’ll be doomed.”

“Seul, you’re being dramatic. Everybody knows she likes you, too.”

“Wannie, not you too. What do you guys expect me to do? Go up to her and say ‘Hey, I know we’re best friends and all but listen, I really, really, really like you and want go on dates with you some time.’ “

Seulgi had not noticed how the trio had became silent while she was talking. When she finally realised, she followed their gaze to the door and saw that Irene was standing there, looking quite shocked but somewhat happy. She had definitely overheard the entire conversation. Seulgi stood up but before she could explain, an ecstatic Irene Bae had thrown herself at a confused but equally happy Seulgi. The trio were cheering “FINALLY” and gave themselves a three-way high-five.

***

Curious eyes watched from a distant as a new figure joined the existing group in the playground. She seemed like a new student in their kindergarten. She was wearing a frilly pale purple dress and matching purple shoes. She tried befriending the few who were playing in the sandbox but nobody bothered about her. The little girl got up onto her feet and went towards the swings. No luck there either. Everybody was too occupied with whatever it is they were doing to entertain the new girl because she just stood there smiling while holding up a mini whiteboard that said ‘Hi, I’m Joohyun. Can we be friends?’. They probably thought she was weird, the observing child mused.

Joohyun seemed to have given up and went to take a seat by the bench alone. She looked down at her board and was trying very hard not to cry. The earlier child noticed Joohyun’s quivering lips and quickly made her way to the lonely girl, flashing her her biggest grin.

“Hi, my name is Seulgi and I want to be your friend!”

End.

A/N: Thank you taking time read this. I apologise for the errors, this has not been beta-d. Shout out to ireadthisonefic! Thank you for your encouragement.